Wire wrapping device

ABSTRACT

A wire wrapping device having a rotatable bit assembly comprised of a sleeve and a bit. A transversely oriented bore in said bit mates with an aperture through one wall of the sleeve and has a pin inserted in said bore which extends into said aperture to prevent rotational movement between the two. The aperture in the sleeve is formed as a vertical slot which along with the pin controls the axial movement of the sleeve with respect to the bit. One end of the bit has a longitudinally extending groove along its outer surface and also a longitudinally extending groove along its surface and also a longitudinally extending bore formed internally from the outer surface of the bit for receiving a terminal pin upon which the wire is to be wound. The bit also has a channel extending completely across its end face passing over both the mouth of the groove and the bore. The sleeve has bit support gripping means formed adjacent its one end, with its other end having an elongated neck whose intermediate portion has part of its circumferential surface longitudinally cut away. Formed at the tip of the neck is a hook finger for capturing the end of a wire which is to be wound upon a pin terminal. The hook is brought into operation after the wire is oriented transversely to the intermediate portion of the neck at a position somewhere between the channel in the end face of the bit and the mouth of the finger hook. As the sleeve is axially drawn upwardly around the bit the mouth of the hook engages the wire and draws it into the channel located in the open face of the bit. Continued upward movement cams the tip of the wire into the groove along the outer surface of the bit, thus placing the apparatus in readiness for winding of the wire upon a terminal pin.

United States Patent Hannity [54] WIRE WRAPPING DEVICE [72] Inventor: Daniel T. Hannify, Warren, RI. [731 Assignee: Ostby .& Barton Co., Providence,

[22] Filed: June 11, 1971 [21] App1.No.: 152,181

[52] US. Cl. "2 9/203 D, 29/203 H [5 1] Int. Cl. ..H01r 43/04 [58] Field of Search ..29/203 H, 203 HC, 203 HT, 203 D, 29/203 HM [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,023,484 3/1962 Arens et al. 29/203 H Primary Examiner-Thomas H. Eager Attorney-Herbert B. Barlow et al.

[5 7 ABSTRACT A wire wrapping device having a rotatable bit assembly comprised of a sleeve and a bit. A transversely oriented bore in said bit mates with an aperture through one wall of the sleeve and has a pin inserted in said bore which extends into said aperture to Dec. 5, 1972 prevent rotational movement between the two. The

aperture in the sleeve is formed as a vertical slot which along with the pin controls the axial movement of the sleeve with respect to the bit. One end of the bit has a longitudinally extending groove along its outer surface and also a longitudinally extending groove along its surface and also a longitudinally extending bore formed internally from the outersurface of the bit for receiving a terminal pin upon which the wire is to be wound. The bit also has a channel extending completely across its end face passing over both the mouth of the groove and the bore. The sleeve has bit support gripping means formed adjacent its one end, with its other end having an elongated neck whose intermediate portion has part of its circumferential surface longitudinally cut away. Formed at the tip of the neck is a hook finger for capturing the end of a wire which is to be wound upon a pin terminal. The hook is brought into operation after the wire is oriented transversely to the intermediate portion of the neck at a position somewhere between the channel in the end face of the bit and the mouth of the finger hook. As the sleeve is axially drawn upwardly around the bit the mouth of the hook engages the wire and draws it into the channel located in the open face of the bit. Continued upward movement earns the tip of the wire into the groove along the outer surface of the bit, thus placing the apparatus in readiness for winding of the wire upon a terminal pin.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures /a l y FIGI SHEET 1 BF 2 PATENTEUUEE 5 I972 INVENTOR DANIEL HANNIFY BY I v ATTORNEYS PATENTEU DEC 5 I972 SHEET 2 OF 2 x lllllllllllll ll llllllllllllll .\P k

INVENTOR DANIEL T. HANNIFY flmw M ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a tool for wrapping wire around a terminal to make an electrical connection.

One of the problems in the past involved in the semiautomatic operation of wrapping the ends of electrical wires around terminals on a wire panel has involved the difficulty of placing the ends of the wires into the radially offset groove of the bit. Applications today normally have a large number of terminals on the panels and may sometimes even run into the thousands caus-' ingthem to be closely spaced together. As a result, the diameter of the wires attached to the terminals is very small and the placing of the end of the wire into the wire receiving groove at the end of the bit is much akin to threading a needle. Attempts have been made to overcome this problem and the newer wire wrapping tools have been designed to allow the wire to be placed transversely against the bit with the sliding movement of the surrounding sleeve orienting the wire axially in the offset groove of the bit. The operation of these wire wrapping tools have not been entirely satisfactory, and also require tiring arm movements by the operator with it sometimes being necessary to continue holding the wire in place even after the sleeve has slidingly covered the wire groove on the bit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The operation of the invention involves taking the stripped end of a wire to be wrapped around the terminal and transversely positioning it directly against the intermediate portion of the neck of the rotatable bit assembly-sleeve. Next the bit support whose fingers engage the bit support gripping channel adjacent the upper end of the sleeve is motivated upwardly by air cylinder means connected thereto. The pin extending transversely outwardly from a bore formed in the bit rests in an aperture shaped in the form of a vertical slot which prevents rotational movement between the bit and the sleeve. The vertical slot controls the axial movement of the sleeve as it is drawn upwardly by the fingers of the bit support. This upward movement of the sleeve causes the hook finger formed at the tip of the neck of the sleeve to capture the transversely extending wire at a point adjacent its end with the upward movement of the sleeve drawing the wire into the channel located in the open face of the bit. The channel extends completely across the end face of the bit over both the mouth of said groove and said longitudinally extending bore. Thus continued upward movement of the sleeve cams the tip of the wire into said groove along the outer surface of the bit placing the rotatable bit assembly in readiness for winding of the wire upon a terminal pin.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevation view of the wire wrapping apparatus illustrating it in cross section;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the rotatable bit assembly illustrating the sleeve in its downwardly extended position;

FIG. 3 is a cross section view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the rotatable bit assembly illustrating the sleeve positioned at its upward closed position;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the bit;

FIG. 6 is a partial view of the tip of the bit illustrated in cross section;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the top of the bit; and

FIG. 8 is a partial cross section view taken along lines 88 of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The overall operation of the wire wrapping device is best understood by referring to FIG. I of the drawings. The wire wrapping tool is generally designated numeral 10. The tool may contain an electric or air motor connected to a conventional drive mechanism (not shown) passing through housing 12 which rotates the chuck assembly 14 and bit assembly 16 attached thereto. The tubular housing is supported within the fingers 18 of bifurcated clamp 20. The clamp in turn is held by support arms 22 which extend outwardly from base plate 24. Attached to the rear of the bifurcated clamp 20 is a bracket 26 upon which tubing connector 28 is mounted. Air cylinder 30 is provided with air tubes 32 and 33 which supply the air pressure for moving the piston therewithin upwardly and downwardly. As the piston moves, the piston rod 35 which is connected to the piston will drive the spacer 36 and bit support 38 attached thereto in an upward and downwardmotion. Guide 40 functions to maintain the alignment of the piston rod as it travels back and forth. Fingers 42 of the bit support engage bit support gripping channel 45 as best illustrated in FIG. 4. Shoulders 46 and 47 of the channel limit the movement of the fingers 42 therewithin.

By referring to FIGS. 2 thru 8 the operation of the bit assembly will be best understood. The bit assembly is comprised of a sleeve 50 and a bit 70. The bit has a transversely extending bore 72 therethrough which mates and aligns with slot 52 when the sleeve is slit onto the bit. Pin 54 is of sufficient length that when his inserted into bore 72 a sufficient amount of it remains within slot 52 thus preventing rotational movement between the sleeve and the bit. Since slot 52 is vertically elongated the sleeve is axially movable with respect to the bit. At the upper end of the bit is formed a tongue 74 which is engaged by the chuck assembly 14. The other end of the bit has a groove 78 extending longitudinally upwardly along the outer surface of the bit from its end face 80. The end face of the bit also has a terminal bore 81 which extends longitudinally up into the neck of the bit for receiving a terminal upon which the wire is to be wound. Also formed in the end face of the bit is a channel 83 which extends completely across FIG. 2, is first positioned transversely in the gap formed between channel 83 at the tip of the bit and hook finger 56 formed at the tip of the sleeve. Next the sleeve is axially moved upwardly to its limiting position and in doing so the hook finger on the tip of the sleeve will capture the transversely positioned wire vadjacent its end and draw it upwardly into the channel formed at the bottom of the bit. Continued upward movement cams the tip of the wire into groove 78 along the outer surface of the bit, thus placing the rotatable bit assembly in readiness for winding of the wire upon a terminal pin.

lclaim:

1. A tool for connecting a wire to a terminal comprisa. a rotatable bit assembly having a sleeve and a bit,

b. means for preventing rotational movement between said bit and said sleeve,

c. means for controlling axial movement of said sleeve with respect to said bit,

(1. said bit having a tongue formed at one end for engagement with a chuck assembly, the other end of said bit having a longitudinally extending groove along the outer surface of the bit and also a longitudinally extending bore formed internally from the end face of the bit for receiving a terminal upon which the wire is to be wound, said bit having a channel extending completely across the end face of said bit across the mouth of both said groove and said longitudinally extending bore,

e. said sleeve having a bit support gripping means formed adjacent its one end with its other end having an elongated neck whose intermediate portion has part of its circumferential surface longitudinally cut away, formed at the tip of said neck is a hook finger for capturing the end of a wire which is to be wound upon a pin terminal whereby said hook is brought into action after the wire is oriented transversely to the intermediate portion of the neck at a position somewhere between the channel in the end face of the bit and the mouth of the finger hook on the tip of the sleeve and while the sleeve is axially drawn upwardly around the bit the mouth of the hook engages the wire and draws it into the channel located in the open face of the bit, continued upward movement camming the tip of the wire into the groove along the outer surface of the bit thus placing the rotatable bit assembly in readiness for winding the wire upon a terminal pin.

2. A tool for connecting a wire to a terminal as recited in claim 1 wherein said means for preventing rotational movement between said bit and said sleeve comprises a transversely oriented bore in said bit, a mating aperture through one wall of said sleeve, and a pin positioned in said bore and extending outwardly into said mating aperture.

3. A tool for connecting a wire to a terminal as recited in claim 1 wherein said means for controlling axial movement of said sleeve with respect to said bit comprises a longitudinal slot through one wall of said sleeve in which a pin extending outwardly from said bit rides up and down.

4. A tool for connecting, a wire to a terminal as recited in claim 1 wherein said bit support gripping gers of a bit support. 

1. A tool for connecting a wire to a terminal comprising: a. a rotatable bit assembly having a sleeve and a bit, b. means for preventing rotational movement between said bit and said sleeve, c. means for controlling axial movement of said sleeve with respect to said bit, d. said bit having a tongue formed at one end for engagement with a chuck assembly, the other end of said bit having a longitudinally extending groove along the outer surface of the bit and also a longitudinally extending bore formed internally from the end face of the bit for receiving a terminal upon which the wire is to be wound, said bit having a channel extending completely across the end face of said bit across the mouth of both said groove and said longitudinally extending bore, e. said sleeve having a bit support gripping means formed adjacent its one end with its other end having an elongated neck whose intermediate portion has part of its circumferential surface longitudinally cut away, formed at the tip of said neck is a hook finger for capturing the end of a wire which is to be wound upon a pin terminal whereby said hook is brought into action after the wire is oriented transversely to the intermediate portion of the neck at a position somewhere between the channel in the end face of the bit and the mouth of the finger hook on the tip of the sleeve and while the sleeve is axially drawn upwardly around the bit the mouth of the hook engages the wire and draws it into the channel located in the open face of the bit, continued upward movement camming the tip of the wire into the groove along the outer surface of the bit thus placing the rotatable bit assembly in readiness for winding the wire upon a terminal pin.
 2. A tool for connecting a wire to a terminal as recited in claim 1 wherein said means for preventing rotational movement between said bit and said sleeve comprises a transversely oriented bore in said bit, a mating aperture through one wall of said sleeve, and a pin positioned in said bore and extending outwardly into said mating aperture.
 3. A tool for connecting a wire to a terminal as recited in claim 1 wherein said means for controlling axial movement of said sleeve with respect to said bit comprises a longitudinal slot through one wall of said sleeve in which a pin extending outwardly from said bit rides up and down.
 4. A tool for connecting a wire to a terminal as recited in claim 1 wherein said bit support gripping means formed adjacent one end of said sleeve comprises an annular channel whose shoulders grip the fingers of a bit support. 